A Guide to the Microfilm Edition of
RECORDS OF ANTE-BELLUM
SOUTHERN PLANTATIONS
FROM THE REVOLUTION THROUGH
THE CIVIL WAR
Series N
Selections from the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS OF AMERICA
i
Cover illustration by W. A. Walker.
Original at the South Caroliniana Library, Columbia, South Carolina.
A Guide to the Microfilm Edition of
Records of Ante-Bellum Southern
Plantations from the Revolution
through the Civil War
General Editor: Kenneth M. Stampp
Series N
Selections from the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Associate Editor
Martin Schipper
Guide Compiled by
Daniel Lewis
A microfilm project of
UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS OF AMERICA
An Imprint of CIS
4520 East-West Highway • Bethesda, MD 20814-3389
i
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Records of ante-bellum southern plantations from the
Revolution through the Civil War [microform]
Accompanied by printed reel guides.
Contents: ser. A. Selections from the South
Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
(2 pts.)—[etc.]—ser. M. Selections from the
Virginia Historical Society—ser. N. Selections from the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
1. Southern States—History—1775–1865—Sources.
2. Slave records—Southern States. 3. Plantation
owners—Southern States—Archives. 4. Southern States—
Genealogy. 5. Plantation life—Southern States—
History—19th century—Sources. I. Stampp, Kenneth M.
(Kenneth Milton) II. Boehm, Randolph. III. Schipper,
Martin Paul. IV. South Caroliniana Library. V. South
Carolina Historical Society. VI. Library of Congress.
Manuscript Division. VII. Maryland Historical Society.
[F213]
975
86-892341
ISBN 1-55655-716-7 (microfilm : ser. N)
Compilation © 2000 by University Publications of America.
All rights reserved.
ISBN 1-55655-716-7.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ...........................................................................................................................
v
Note on Sources ....................................................................................................................
vii
Editorial Note .........................................................................................................................
vii
Reel Index
Reel 1
#175m, Aventine Plantation Diary, 1857–1860, Adams County, Mississippi ..................
#811m, Birdsong Plantation Journal, [1836–1859] .........................................................
#z1610, Bisland-Shields Family Collection, 1773–1969, Adams County, Mississippi;
also Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana .............................................................................
1
1
2
Reel 2
#z1610, Bisland-Shields Family Collection cont. ............................................................
#z89, John C. Burrus Papers, 1831–1918, Bolivar County, Mississippi .........................
4
4
Reel 3
#z89.1, John C. Burrus Accretion, 1836–1915, Bolivar County, Mississippi ..................
5
Reel 4
#z122, Charles Clark and Family Collection, 1810–1892, Jefferson and Bolivar
Counties, Mississippi ..................................................................................................
6
Reel 5
#z122, Charles Clark and Family Collection cont. ..........................................................
#132m, Levin Covington Diary, 1825–1845, Adams County, Mississippi .......................
#z82, Darden Family Collection, 1820–1899, Jefferson County, Mississippi .................
6
7
8
Reel 6
#z82, Darden Family Collection cont. .............................................................................
8
Reel 7
#z82, Darden Family Collection cont. .............................................................................
#z1497, Lettie Downs Diary and Notebook, 1859–1866, Warren County,
Mississippi ..................................................................................................................
#995, Benjamin Drake Collection, 1805–1914, Adams and Jefferson Counties,
Mississippi; also Jackson, Louisiana ..........................................................................
10
Reel 8
#995, Benjamin Drake Collection cont. ...........................................................................
11
iii
9
9
Reel 9
#995, Benjamin Drake Collection cont. ...........................................................................
#z114, William Dunbar Collection, 1776–1812, Adams County, Mississippi;
also Louisiana ............................................................................................................
12
12
Reel 10
#z114, William Dunbar Collection cont. ..........................................................................
#z114.1, William Dunbar Accretion, 1789–1842, Adams County, Mississippi;
also Louisiana ............................................................................................................
#411m, Elley Plantation Book, 1855–1856, Washington County, Mississippi ................
#752m, Alden Spooner Forbes Diary, 1859–1866, Claiborne County, Mississippi ........
#1247, Irion-Neilson Collection, [1813–1971], Lowndes County, Mississippi .................
13
14
15
15
Reel 11
#1247, Irion-Neilson Collection cont. ..............................................................................
16
13
Reel 12
#1247, Irion-Neilson Collection cont. ..............................................................................
#258m, Killona Plantation Journals, 1836–[1840], Holmes County, Mississippi .............
#517m, Alexander G. McNutt Plantation Papers, 1835–1845, Warren County,
Mississippi ..................................................................................................................
#889v, James T. Magruder Account Book and Plantation Journal, 1796–1818,
Jefferson County, Mississippi; also Maryland ............................................................
#692, James T. Magruder Cotton Book, 1818–1830, Jefferson County, Mississippi .....
#z74, Panther Burn Plantation Journals, 1859–1883, Panther Burn, Mississippi ...........
18
19
19
Reels 13–15
#z66, John A. Quitman Papers, 1812–1860, Adams County, Mississippi ......................
20
Reel 16
#z66, John A. Quitman Papers cont. ..............................................................................
#z66.1, Quitman Family Papers Accretion, 1822–1884, Adams County, Mississippi .....
24
24
Reel 17
#z156f, John A. Quitman Papers Accretion, 1847–1853, Adams County, Mississippi ...
#z913, John A. Quitman and Family Papers Collection, 1820–1931, Adams County,
Mississippi ..................................................................................................................
#1308, Nancy McDougall Robinson Collection, 1832–1873, Claiborne County,
Mississippi ..................................................................................................................
Reel 18
#1308, Nancy McDougall Robinson Collection cont. ......................................................
#z270m, Walter Wade Plantation Diaries, 1834–1854, Jefferson County,
Mississippi ..................................................................................................................
Reel 19
#z76, Benjamin Leonard Covington Wailes Diaries, 1762–1862, Washington, Adams
County, Mississippi .....................................................................................................
Reel 20
#z76, Benjamin Leonard Covington Wailes Diaries cont. ...............................................
#z912, Wallace Plantation Book, 1837–1855, Como, Mississippi ..................................
#129m, Unidentified Plantation Journal, 1859–1860, Holly Springs, Marshall County,
Mississippi ..................................................................................................................
iv
17
17
18
25
26
27
27
28
28
31
32
32
INTRODUCTION
The impact of the ante-bellum southern plantations on the lives of their black and white
inhabitants, as well as on the political, economic, and cultural life of the South as a whole, is one
of the most fascinating and controversial problems of present-day American historical research.
Depending upon the labor of slaves who constituted the great majority of the American black
population, the plantations were both homes and business enterprises for a white, southern elite.
They were the largest, the most commercialized, and on the whole, the most efficient and
specialized agricultural enterprises of their day, producing the bulk of the South’s staple crops of
tobacco, cotton, sugar, rice, and hemp. Their proprietors were entrepreneurs who aspired to and
sometimes, after a generation or two, achieved the status of a cultivated landed aristocracy. Many
distinguished themselves not only in agriculture but in the professions, in the military, in government
service, and in scientific and cultural endeavors.
Planters ambitious to augment their wealth, together with their black slaves, were an important
driving force in the economic and political development of new territories and states in the
Southwest. Their commodities accounted for more than half the nation’s exports, and the
plantations themselves were important markets for the products of northern industry. In short, they
played a crucial role in the development of a national market economy.
The plantations of the Old South, the white families who owned, operated, and lived on them, and
the blacks who toiled on them as slaves for more than two centuries have been the subjects of
numerous historical studies since the pioneering work of Ulrich B. Phillips in the early twentieth
century. The literature, highly controversial, has focused on questions such as the evolution and
nature of the planter class and its role in shaping the white South’s economy, culture, and values;
the conditions experienced by American blacks in slavery; the impact of the “peculiar institution” on
their personalities and the degree to which a distinct Afro-American culture developed among them;
and, finally, the sources of the tension between the proslavery interests of the South and the “free
labor” interests of the North that culminated in secession and civil war.
Research materials are plentiful. Census returns and other government documents, newspapers
and periodicals, travelers’ accounts, memoirs and autobiographies, and an abundance of polemical
literature have much to tell historians about life on ante-bellum plantations. The autobiographies of
former slaves, several twentieth-century oral history collections, and a rich record of songs and
folklore are significant sources for the black experience in slavery. All the historical literature,
however, from Phillips to the most recent studies, has relied heavily on the enormous collections
of manuscript plantation records that survive in research libraries scattered throughout the South.
These manuscripts consist of business records, account books, slave lists, overseers’ reports,
diaries, private letters exchanged among family members and friends, and even an occasional letter
written by a literate slave. They come mostly from the larger tobacco, cotton, sugar, and rice
plantations, but a significant number survive from the more modest estates and smaller slaveholdings
whose economic operations tended to be less specialized.
Plantation records reveal nearly every aspect of plantation life. Not only business operations and
day-to-day labor routines, but family affairs, the roles of women, racial attitudes, relations between
masters and slaves, social and cultural life, the values shared by members of the planter class, and
the tensions and anxieties that were inseparable from a slave society are all revealed with a fullness
and candor unmatched by any of the other available sources. Moreover, these records are
immensely valuable for studies of black slavery. Needless to say, since they were compiled by
v
members of the white master class, they provide little direct evidence of the inner feelings and
private lives of the slave population. But they are the best sources of information about the care and
treatment of slaves, about problems in the management of slave labor, and about forms of slave
resistance short of open rebellion. They also tell us much about the behavior of slaves, from which
historians can at least draw inferences about the impact of slavery on the minds and personalities
of its black victims.
Deposited in southern state archives and in the libraries of many southern universities and
historical societies, significantly more plantation records have become available in recent decades.
Our publication is designed to assist scholars in their use by offering for the first time an ample
selection of the most important materials in a single microfilm collection. Ultimately it will cover each
geographical area in which the plantation flourished, with additions of approximately four new
collections annually. A special effort is being made to offer the rarer records of the smaller
slaveholders and to include the equally rare records of the plantations in the last quarter of the
eighteenth century; however, the documentation is most abundant for the operations of the larger
plantations in the period between the War of 1812 and the Civil War, and their records will constitute
the bulk of our publication.
Kenneth M. Stampp
Professor Emeritus
University of California at Berkeley
vi
NOTE ON SOURCES
The collections microfilmed in this edition are holdings of the Mississippi Department of Archives
and History, Archives and Library Division, P. O. Box 571, Jackson, Mississippi, 39205-0571. The
descriptions of the collections provided in this user guide are adapted from inventories compiled by
the staff of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The inventories are included among
the introductory materials on the microfilm.
Historical maps, microfilmed among the introductory materials, are courtesy of the Map
Collection of the Academic Affairs Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Maps
consulted include:
Thomas G. Bradford, Comprehensive Atlas, 1835.
EDITORIAL NOTE
The Reel Index for this edition provides the name, a précis, and a list of the folders and/or
manuscript volumes in each collection. The collection title begins with the accession number
assigned by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. This accession number is followed
by the name, dates, and the major places associated with the collection. Following the title is a brief
description of the collection.
Each précis gives information on family history and many business and personal activities
documented in the collection. Omissions from the microfilm edition are noted on the microfilm and
at the end of the inventory of each collection. Descriptions of omitted materials are also included in
the introductory materials on the microfilm.
Following the précis, the Reel Index itemizes each file folder and manuscript volume. The fourdigit number to the left of each entry indicates the frame number at which a particular document or
series of documents begins. The collections in this edition have been filmed in alphabetical order.
vii
REEL INDEX
#175m, Aventine Plantation Diary, 1857–1860,
Adams County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
Thomas R. Shields owned Aventine Plantation in Adams County, Mississippi. The
entries in this plantation diary span from January 1, 1857, to December 1859. Entries
from 1857 and 1858 were written by Patrick Francis McGovern, one of the overseers of
the plantation. Charles Sanders, another overseer at Aventine Plantation, wrote the
entries for 1859. The entries include detailed descriptions of the work done each day on
the plantation. Most entries record the number of slaves, the tasks carried out by each
slave, and sometimes even a general description of the number of hours worked on a
particular day. Daily records of the amount of cotton picked by each slave were also
kept. Health of the slaves, including births and sicknesses, is mentioned routinely. A list
of physician visits to the plantation is included on Frame 0110 of Reel 1, followed by a
list of births on Frame 0111. An entry from 1859 (Reel 1, Frame 0106) lists items of
clothing given to both male and female slaves.
N. B. A related collection among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History is #z1610, Bisland-Shields Family Collection, which is included in
this edition beginning at Frame 0263 of Reel 1.
Reel 1
Introductory Materials
0001
Introductory Materials. 4 frames.
Aventine Plantation Diary
0005
Aventine Plantation Diary. 109 frames.
Omissions
0114
List of Omissions from the Aventine Plantation Diary. 1 frame.
#811m, Birdsong Plantation Journal, [1836–1859]
Description of the Collection
Jefferson J. Birdsong was born in 1810 in Sussex County, Virginia. In 1832 he moved
to Brownsville, Hinds County, Mississippi. In the mid-1830s, Birdsong became a large
1
landowner and was the second highest taxpayer in Hinds County. The Birdsong
Plantation Journal deals primarily with daily plantation operations. Some entries relate
to the mercantile business and other matters. Birdsong was interested in politics, and
the entries from 1855 to 1857 contain references to political developments.
Introductory Materials
0115
Introductory Materials. 5 frames.
Birdsong Plantation Journal
0120
Birdsong Plantation Journal. 143 frames.
#z1610, Bisland-Shields Family Collection, 1773–1969,
Adams County, Mississippi; also Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
Description of the Collection
The Bisland-Shields Family Collection begins with a folder that provides brief histories
of the Bisland and Shields families. The correspondence of John Bisland begins in 1801
and includes discussion of family life, education, and a few isolated references to slaves
and slavery. Correspondence regarding Hope Farm, a sugar plantation in Terrebonne
Parish, Louisiana, begins in 1833 (Reel 1, Frame 0549). Several letters, beginning with
a May 24, 1833, letter from Thomas R. Shields to William Bisland, discuss the health of
slaves at Hope Farm. The correspondence of William Bisland mentions his business
affairs. The courtship letters of William A. Bisland and Caroline Pride discuss the Civil
War as well as general daily activities (Reel 1, Frames 0584–0705). Also included in
this collection is a journal kept by Leonora Bisland from 1856 to 1857 during her time at
Pine Ridge Female High School in Adams County, Mississippi (Reel 2, Frame 0059).
N. B. A related collection among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History is #175m, Aventine Plantation Diary, which is included in this
edition beginning at Frame 0001 of Reel 1. Another related collection filmed by UPA is
the John Bisland and Family Papers from the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley
Collection at the Louisiana State University Libraries. This collection is part of Records
of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations from the Revolution through the Civil War, Series I,
Part 4.
Introductory Materials
0263
Introductory Materials. 14 frames.
Papers
Box 1
0277
0308
0319
0352
0355
0356
0357
Folder 1. Genealogical Material. 31 frames.
Folder 2. Memoirs of Dr. Joseph Dunbar Shields. 11 frames.
Folder 3. Louise Bisland, Governor Gayoso Speaks for Himself, and critique. 33 frames.
Folder 4. Oath of Allegiance (1863) and Pass from New Orleans to Natchez (1862). 3 frames.
Folder 4a. [Empty folder]. 1 frame.
Folder 5. [Empty folder]. 1 frame.
Folder 6. Newspaper Clippings. 17 frames.
2
0374
0481
0490
0496
0505
0511
0526
0535
0542
0556
0572
Folder 7. Miscellaneous. 107 frames.
Folder 8. Correspondence, 1775; 1791; 1797; 1799. 9 frames.
Folder 9. Correspondence, 1801. 6 frames.
Folder 10. Correspondence, 1804–1806. 9 frames.
Folder 11. Correspondence, 1815. 6 frames.
Folder 12. Correspondence, 1817. 15 frames.
Folder 13. Correspondence, 1819. 9 frames.
Folder 14. Correspondence, 1821 and 1825. 7 frames.
Folder 15. Correspondence, 1832; 1839; 1833. 14 frames.
Folder 16. Correspondence, 1841; 1843; 1847; 1848. 16 frames.
Folder 17. Correspondence, 1853–1855; 1859. 12 frames.
Box 2
0584
0589
0596
0604
0615
0625
0638
0648
0662
0674
0683
Folder 18. Correspondence, April–May 1862. 5 frames.
Folder 19. Correspondence, June–August 1862. 7 frames.
Folder 20. Correspondence, August–September 1862. 8 frames.
Folder 21. Correspondence, September–December 1862. 11 frames.
Folder 22. Correspondence, January–February 1863. 10 frames.
Folder 23. Correspondence, February 1863. 13 frames.
Folder 24. Correspondence, March and October 1863. 10 frames.
Folder 25. Correspondence, January–March 1864. 14 frames.
Folder 26. Correspondence, March–April 1864. 12 frames.
Folder 27. Correspondence, May and December 1864. 9 frames.
Folder 28. Correspondence, January–July 1865. 23 frames.
Box 3
0706
0712
0741
0745
0756
0762
0780
0796
0799
0808
0812
Folder 41. Correspondence, 1955; 1959; 1960. 6 frames.
Folder 42. Correspondence, Undated. 29 frames.
Folder 43. Patrons of Husbandry, 1874–1875. 4 frames.
Folder 44. Legal Documents, John Bisland, 1778; 1775; 1787; 1806; 1818. 11 frames.
Folder 45. Legal Documents, 1838 and 1882. 6 frames.
Folder 46. Legal Documents, Bisland-Shields v. Ruffin, 1844. 18 frames.
Folder 47. Legal Documents, Wills and Title to cemetery lot, 1855; 1846; 1848; 1847.
16 frames.
Folder 48. Legal Documents, Notice of Bankruptcy of Samuel Lamdin, 1869. 3 frames.
Folder 49. Legal Documents, Shields-Winston and King, 1917. 9 frames.
Folder 50. Legal Documents, Shields-Winston and Shepard, 1925–1926. 4 frames.
Folder 51. Legal Documents, Shields-Winston v. Adams Land Office, 1930. 5 frames.
Box 4
0817
0830
0840
0846
0853
0861
0868
0873
0878
0881
Folder 52. Legal Documents, Indentures, 1840; 1842; 1900. 13 frames.
Folder 53. Legal Documents, Deeds, Indenture, and Lease. 1933; 1894; 1940. 10 frames.
Folder 54. Receipts, John Bisland, 1773; 1785; 1786; 1799. 6 frames.
Folder 55. Receipts, John Bisland, 1801–1803. 7 frames.
Folder 56. John Bisland, Manifests for bales of cotton and list of books. 1802. 8 frames.
Folder 57. Receipts, John Bisland, 1804–1805. 7 frames.
Folder 58. Receipts, John Bisland, 1810. 5 frames.
Folder 59. Receipts, John Bisland, 1811. 5 frames.
Folder 60. Receipts, John Bisland, 1812–1813. 3 frames.
Folder 61. Receipts, John Bisland, 1815. 4 frames.
3
0885
0891
0895
Folder 62. Receipts, John Bisland, 1817; 1820. 6 frames.
Folder 63. Receipts, John Bisland, Undated. 4 frames.
Folder 64. Receipts, 1853–1859. 18 frames.
Reel 2
#z1610, Bisland-Shields Family Collection cont.
Papers cont.
Box 4 cont.
0002
Folder 65. Receipts, 1860–1861. 8 frames.
0010
Folder 66. Receipts, 1862–1868. 10 frames.
0020
Folder 67. Receipts, 1876–1888. 13 frames.
0033
Folder 68. Receipts, 1901–1934. 11 frames.
0044
Folder 69. Receipts, Undated. 7 frames.
0051
Folder 70. Sheriff’s Office Tax Receipts, 1872–1934. 8 frames.
0059
[Journal of Leonora Bisland, 1856–1857]. 52 frames.
Box 5
0111
0324
[Receipts, Financial and Business Records, 1858–1866]. 213 frames.
[Receipts, Financial and Business Records, Plantation Journal, and List of Slaves on Hope
Farm, 1859–1884]. 107 frames.
Omissions
0431
List of Omissions from Bisland-Shields Family Collection. 1 frame.
#z89, John C. Burrus Papers, 1831–1918,
Bolivar County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
The John C. Burrus Papers, 1831–1918, consist of personal papers and business
correspondence. Many documents in the collection pertain to the purchase of land in
Bolivar County, Mississippi.
N. B. A related collection among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History is #z89.1, John C. Burrus Accretion. Another related collection
filmed by UPA is the Burrus Family Papers, 1827–1865, Collection #105 from the
Howard-Tilton Memorial Library at Tulane University. This collection is part of Records
of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations from the Revolution through the Civil War,
Series H.
Introductory Materials
0432
Introductory Materials. 5 frames.
4
Papers
Box 1
0437
0475
0495
0531
0554
0572
0588
0623
0644
0668
0693
0726
0748
0790
0817
0847
0887
Folder 1. Correspondence, 1831–1838 and Undated. 38 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence, 1839–1847. 20 frames.
Folder 3. Correspondence, 1848–1849. 36 frames.
Folder 4. Correspondence, 1850–1851. 23 frames.
Folder 5. Correspondence, 1852–1853. 18 frames.
Folder 6. Correspondence, 1854. 16 frames.
Folder 7. Correspondence, 1855. 35 frames.
Folder 8. Correspondence, 1856. 21 frames.
Folder 9. Correspondence, January–April 1857. 24 frames.
Folder 10. Correspondence, May–December 1857. 25 frames.
Folder 11. Correspondence, January–April 15, 1858. 33 frames.
Folder 12. Correspondence, April 16–December 31, 1858. 22 frames.
Folder 13. Correspondence, 1859. 42 frames.
Folder 14. Correspondence, 1860. 27 frames.
Folder 15. Correspondence, 1861–1863. 30 frames.
Folder 16. Correspondence, 1864. 40 frames.
Folder 17. Correspondence, 1865–1866. 16 frames.
Omissions
0903
List of Omissions from the John C. Burrus Papers. 1 frame.
Reel 3
#z89.1, John C. Burrus Accretion, 1836–1915,
Bolivar County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This portion of the John C. Burrus Papers is an addition to the John C. Burrus Papers,
#z89. Like #z89, #z289.1 also contains personal papers and business correspondence.
Introductory Materials
0001
Introductory Materials. 5 frames.
Papers
Box 1
0006
0055
0093
0135
0181
0224
0268
Folder 1. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 49 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 38 frames.
Folder 3. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 42 frames.
Folder 4. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 46 frames.
Folder 5. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 43 frames.
Folder 6. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 44 frames.
Folder 7. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 54 frames.
5
0322
0360
0402
0465
Folder 8. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 38 frames.
Folder 9. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 42 frames.
Folder 10. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 63 frames.
Folder 11. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 64 frames.
Box 2
0529
0585
0606
0624
Folder 12. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 56 frames.
Folder 13. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 21 frames.
Folder 14. Correspondence and Papers, 1836–1862. 18 frames.
Folder 15. Correspondence and Papers, [September 4, 1864]. 3 frames.
Box 3
0627
0683
0724
Folder 28. Prose and Poetry, Undated. 56 frames.
Folder 29. Recipes, Undated. 41 frames.
Folder 30. Religious Papers, Undated. 51 frames.
Box 4
0775
0848
Volume 11. J. Olney, The Easy Reader or the Introduction to the National Preceptor:
Consisting of Familiar and Progressive Lessons Designed to Aid in Thinking, Spelling,
Defining, and Correct Reading (New Haven: Durrie and Peck, 1835). 73 frames.
Volume 12. Law School Notebook, ca. 1840. 42 frames.
Omissions
0890
List of Omissions from the John C. Burrus Accretion. 1 frame.
Reel 4
#z122, Charles Clark and Family Collection, 1810–1892,
Jefferson and Bolivar Counties, Mississippi
Description of Collection
Charles Clark served in the Confederate Army and was also the governor of
Mississippi from November 16, 1863, to May 22, 1865. The Charles Clark and Family
Papers include extensive account books and day books for Doro Plantation, located in
Bolivar County in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta. These plantation books record statistics
on the amount of cotton picked by each slave at Doro Plantation as well as the various
jobs performed by Doro’s slave labor force. The collection also includes personal
papers and family correspondence.
Introductory Materials
0001
Introductory Materials. 7 frames.
Papers
Box 1
0008
0068
0115
0213
Folder 1. Letters, Undated. 60 frames.
Folder 2. Papers [Financial and Business Records and Receipts], Undated. 47 frames.
Folder 3. [Correspondence, Financial and Business Records], 1830–1859. 98 frames.
Folder 4. [Correspondence, Financial and Business Records], 1860–1861. 51 frames.
6
0264
0341
Box 2
0396
0439
0544
0689
0858
Folder 5. [Correspondence, Financial and Business Records], 1862–1864. 77 frames.
Folder 6. [Correspondence, Financial and Business Records], 1865. 55 frames.
Volume 1. [Legal Writings of Charles Clark, Undated]. 43 frames.
Volume 2. Account Book of Charles Clark, 1834–1836; Docket book of C. Jefferson and
Charles Clark, 1833–1835. 105 frames.
Volume 3. Execution Docket of Charles Clark, [1836–1840]. 145 frames.
Volume 4. Account Book of Charles Clark, [1837–1840]. 169 frames.
Volume 5. [Account Book of Charles Clark, 1839–1843; 1860–1869]. 120 frames.
Reel 5
#z122, Charles Clark and Family Collection cont.
Papers cont.
Box 2 cont.
0002
Volume 6. [Account Book of Charles Clark, 1841–1846]. 219 frames.
Box 3
0221
0263
0325
0398
0440
0509
0572
0661
Volume 7. Plantation Journal of Doro Plantation kept by overseer J. B. Flowers, 1852–1855.
42 frames.
Volume 8. The Cotton Plantation Record and Account Book, Doro Plantation, kept by
overseer J. B. Flowers, 1853–1854. 62 frames.
Volume 9. The Cotton Plantation Record and Account Book, Doro Plantation, kept by
overseer J. B. Flowers, 1855. 73 frames.
Volume 10. The Cotton Plantation Record and Account Book, Doro Plantation, kept by
overseer J. B. Flowers, 1858. 42 frames.
Volume 11. The Cotton Plantation Record and Account Book, Doro Plantation, kept by
overseers Samuel J. Dickey, William B. Farrar, A. D. Sailor, and Mrs. Charles Clark, 1861–
1862. 69 frames.
Volume 14. Miscellaneous Plantation Records, and Newspaper Clippings regarding the Civil
War, 1810–1866. 63 frames.
Volume 16. Account Book, 1860. 89 frames.
Volume 24. Invoice Book of B. Kock, Importer and Exporter, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1849–
1859. 103 frames.
Omissions
0764
List of Omissions from the Charles Clark and Family Collection. 1 frame.
#132m, Levin Covington Diary, 1825–1845,
Adams County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
The diary of Levin Covington is primarily a plantation day book tracking the operations
on Covington’s plantations in Adams County, Mississippi. Some entries include
statistics on the amount of cotton picked by each slave. The first ten pages of the diary
contain the minutes of the Adams Athenaeum for 1825 to 1826.
7
Introductory Materials
0765
Introductory Materials. 3 frames.
Levin Covington Diary
0768
Levin Covington Diary, 1825–1845. 73 frames.
#z82, Darden Family Collection, 1820–1899,
Jefferson County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
The Darden Family Collection includes the personal and business papers of David M.,
John P., James T., and Thomas L. Darden. A two-volume diary of Susan Sillers Darden
records her observations while living on a plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi.
Topics discussed in the diary include social gatherings, health and diseases,
attendance at church, and business transactions. The first volume of the diary spans
from 1853 to 1861, and the second volume begins with a June 1865 entry and
continues until August 23, 1877. A typescript of the first volume of the diary can be
found beginning at Frame 0687 of Reel 6. A typescript of the second volume of the diary
begins at Frame 0002 of Reel 7.
Introductory Materials
0841
Introductory Materials. 6 frames.
Papers
Box 1
0847
0855
Folder 1. Land Grants, [1834–1859]. 8 frames.
Folder 2. Land Grants, [1820–1841]. 9 frames.
Reel 6
#z82, Darden Family Collection cont.
Papers cont.
Box 1 cont.
0002
Folder 3. [Correspondence], 1828–1842 and Undated. 30 frames.
0032
Folder 4. [Correspondence], 1844–1846. 18 frames.
0050
Folder 5. [Correspondence], 1852–1855. 21 frames.
0071
Folder 6. [Correspondence], 1856–1857. 17 frames.
0088
Folder 7. [Correspondence], 1858–1859. 17 frames.
0105
Folder 8. [Correspondence], 1860–1869. 17 frames.
0122
Folder 9. [Correspondence], 1871–1882. 21 frames.
0143
Folder 10. [Correspondence], 1891–1899. 14 frames.
0157
Volume 1, Folder 1. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, June 1853–December 1855. 36 frames.
8
0193
0244
0270
0310
0360
0399
0512
0540
0576
0600
0640
Box 3
0687
Volume 1, Folder 2. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, December 1855–September 1857.
51 frames.
Volume 1, Folder 3. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, September 1857–April 1858. 26 frames.
Volume 1, Folder 4. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, [May] 1858–October 1859. 40 frames.
Volume 1, Folder 5. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, October 1859–January 1861. 50 frames.
Volume 1, Folder 6. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, January 1861–December 1861.
39 frames.
Volume 2, Folder 7. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, June 1865–March 1868. 113 frames.
Volume 2, Folder 8. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, May 1868–May 1870. 28 frames.
Volume 2, Folder 9. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, June 1870–February 1872. 36 frames.
Volume 2, Folder 10. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, March 1872–April 1873. 24 frames.
Volume 2, Folder 11. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, April 1873–January 1875. 40 frames.
Volume 2, Folder 12. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, March 1875–August 1877. 47 frames.
Volume 1. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, Typescript, January 1854–December 1861.
350 frames.
Reel 7
#z82, Darden Family Collection cont.
Papers cont.
Box 4
0002
Volume 2. Diary of Susan Sillers Darden, Typescript, July 1865–September 1877.
355 frames.
#z1497, Lettie Downs Diary and Notebook, 1859–1866,
Warren County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This collection comprises the diary and notebook of Letitia (Lettie) Frances Booker
Vick Downs, the daughter of John Wesley Vick and Letitia Frances Booker Vick. The
diary was written between 1859 and 1866 while Downs was living on her father’s
plantation at Anguilla. The diary records the lifestyle of and the difficulties faced by the
Vick family before, during, and after the siege of Vicksburg.
Introductory Materials
0357
Introductory Materials. 5 frames.
Lettie Downs Diary and Notebook
0362
0371
Lettie Downs Notebook, [1859–1866]. 9 frames.
Lettie Downs Diary, [1862–1866]. 74 frames.
Omissions
0445
List of Omissions from the Lettie Downs Diary and Notebook. 1 frame.
9
#995, Benjamin Drake Collection, 1805–1914,
Adams and Jefferson Counties, Mississippi; also Jackson, Louisiana
Description of the Collection
The Benjamin Drake Collection is composed of the papers of Benjamin Drake
(1800–1860), a Methodist minister who by 1824 was “riding the circuit” in the Natchez
and Washington, Mississippi, areas. Drake was also heavily involved in education. In
1828, he became president of Elizabeth Female Academy. In 1839, Drake founded
Centenary College, then located in Brandon, Mississippi. Centenary College was later
moved to Jackson, Louisiana, and Drake became its president in 1853. Drake married
Susan Priscilla Hawkins Magruder, daughter of James T. Magruder, the owner of Mt.
Ararat Plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi. The collection contains some
correspondence pertaining to Mt. Ararat. Drake also became involved in the
colonization movement and some correspondence in the collection discusses the
American Colonization Society and the activities of freed slaves in Monrovia, Liberia.
Introductory Materials
0446
Introductory Materials. 6 frames.
Papers
Box 5
0452
0515
0521
0553
0596
0642
0671
0698
0732
0761
0793
0820
Folder 29. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 63 frames.
Folder 30. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 6 frames.
Folder 31. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 32 frames.
Folder 32. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 43 frames.
Folder 33. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 46 frames.
Folder 34. Correspondence and Papers, Undated. 29 frames.
Folder 35. Correspondence and Papers, September 3, 1807–October 19, 1823. 27 frames.
Folder 36. Correspondence and Papers, December 20, 1823–February 11, 1826. 34 frames.
Folder 37. Correspondence and Papers, March 22, 1826–April 26, 1828. 29 frames.
Folder 38. Correspondence and Papers, May 5, 1828–February 28, 1830. 32 frames.
Folder 39. Correspondence and Papers, March 27, 1830–August 10, 1831. 27 frames.
Folder 40. Correspondence and Papers, April 16–August 7, 1832. 18 frames.
Box 6
0838
0866
0907
Folder 41. Correspondence and Papers, November 14, 1832–March 25, 1833. 28 frames.
Folder 42. Correspondence and Papers, May 1–July 27, 1833. 41 frames.
Folder 43. Correspondence and Papers, July 31, 1833–November 15, 1835. 45 frames.
10
Reel 8
#995, Benjamin Drake Collection cont.
Papers cont.
Box 6 cont.
0002
Folder 44. Correspondence and Papers, January 2, 1836–March 19, 1837. 40 frames.
0042
Folder 45. Correspondence and Papers, June 30, 1837–January 8, 1838. 34 frames.
0076
Folder 46. Correspondence and Papers, January 29, 1838–March 24, 1839. 36 frames.
0112
Folder 47. Correspondence and Papers, April 15, 1839–February 24, 1840. 38 frames.
0150
Folder 48. Correspondence and Papers, March 14–November 4, 1840. 33 frames.
0183
Folder 49. Correspondence and Papers, January 18–August 24, 1841. 29 frames.
0212
Folder 50. Correspondence and Papers, September 12, 1841–April 12, 1842. 30 frames.
0242
Folder 51. Correspondence and Papers, June 16, 1842–March 19, 1843. 26 frames.
Box 7
0268
0306
0335
0363
0398
0430
0466
0512
0553
0579
0616
0648
0675
0700
0730
Box 8
0747
0768
0784
0809
0837
0873
0903
0916
0937
Folder 52. Correspondence and Papers, April 1–October 30, 1843. 38 frames.
Folder 53. Correspondence and Papers, December 15, 1843–April 22, 1845. 29 frames.
Folder 54. Correspondence and Papers, June 6, 1845–July 29, 1846. 28 frames.
Folder 55. Correspondence and Papers, December 7, 1846–January 22, 1849. 35 frames.
Folder 56. Correspondence and Papers, March 10, 1849–September 13, 1850. 32 frames.
Folder 57. Correspondence and Papers, October 17, 1850–August 3, 1852. 36 frames.
Folder 58. Correspondence and Papers, October 5, 1852–November 24, 1854. 46 frames.
Folder 59. Correspondence and Papers, February 20, 1855–July 20, 1857. 41 frames.
Folder 60. Correspondence and Papers, October 16, 1857–May 21, 1858. 26 frames.
Folder 61. Correspondence and Papers, June 24, 1858–November 28, 1859. 37 frames.
Folder 62. Correspondence and Papers, May 9, 1860–September 25, 1864. 32 frames.
Folder 63. Correspondence and Papers, April 15, 1865–September 4, 1866. 27 frames.
Folder 64. Correspondence and Papers, April 9, 1867–July 9, 1869. 25 frames.
Folder 65. Correspondence and Papers, August 10, 1869–December 22, 1898. 30 frames.
Folder 66. Correspondence and Papers, January 5, 1910–April 5, 1913. 17 frames.
Folder 67. Financial Papers, Undated and 1817–1839. 21 frames.
Folder 68. Financial Papers, 1840–1849. 16 frames.
Folder 69. Financial Papers, 1840–1849. 25 frames.
Folder 70. Financial Papers, 1850–1859. 28 frames.
Folder 71. Financial Papers, 1860–1866. 36 frames.
Folder 72. Benjamin M. Drake, Biographical information; extract from genealogy of Drake
family. [Undated]. 30 frames.
Folder 73. Lecture of Benjamin M. Drake before Jefferson College and Washington Lyceum,
1830. 13 frames.
Folder 74. Mississippi Conference Missionary Society, Methodist Episcopal Church, Papers,
Undated. 21 frames.
Folder 75. Mississippi Conference Missionary Society, Methodist Episcopal Church, Papers,
1823–1827. 14 frames.
11
Reel 9
#995, Benjamin Drake Collection cont.
Papers cont.
Box 8 cont.
0002
Folder 76. Mississippi Conference Missionary Society, Methodist Episcopal Church, Papers,
1828–1832. 11 frames.
0013
Folder 77. Mississippi Conference Missionary Society, Methodist Episcopal Church, Annual
Reports, 1824–1825. 27 frames.
0040
Folder 78. Mississippi Conference Missionary Society, Methodist Episcopal Church, Annual
Reports, 1826–1828. 22 frames.
0062
Folder 79. Mississippi Conference Missionary Society, Methodist Episcopal Church, Annual
Reports, 1831–1832. 26 frames.
0088
Folder 80. Benjamin M. Drake, Treasurer, Mississippi Conference Missionary Society,
Methodist Episcopal Church, Account Book, 1836–1842. 31 frames.
Box 9
0119
0151
0156
0160
0164
0170
0202
0230
0260
0282
0307
0317
0339
0363
0382
0404
Folder 81. Miscellaneous Papers. 32 frames.
Folder 82. Envelopes. 5 frames.
Folder 83. Envelopes. 4 frames.
Folder 84. Envelopes. 4 frames.
Folder 85. Envelopes. 6 frames.
Folder 86. Abstracts of Correspondence and other literary remains of Benjamin M. Drake,
together with Sunday Notes and Comments, 1822–1827. 32 frames.
Folder 87. Abstracts of Correspondence of Benjamin M. Drake, 1828. 28 frames.
Folder 88. Abstracts of Correspondence of Benjamin M. Drake, 1829–1836. 30 frames.
Folder 89. Abstracts of Correspondence of Benjamin M. Drake, 1837–1840. 22 frames.
Folder 90. Abstracts of Correspondence of Benjamin M. Drake, 1841–1845. 25 frames.
Folder 91. Abstracts of Correspondence of Benjamin M. Drake, 1846–1849. 10 frames.
Folder 92. Abstracts of Correspondence of Benjamin M. Drake, 1844–1849. 22 frames.
Folder 93. Abstracts of Correspondence of Benjamin M. Drake, 1852–1854. 24 frames.
Folder 94. Abstracts of Correspondence of Benjamin M. Drake, 1855–1859. 19 frames.
Folder 95. Abstracts of Correspondence of Benjamin M. Drake, 1860. 22 frames.
Folder 96. Abstracts of Correspondence of Benjamin M. Drake, miscellaneous. 43 frames.
Omissions
0447
List of Omissions from the Benjamin Drake Collection. 1 frame.
#z114, William Dunbar Collection, 1776–1812,
Adams County, Mississippi; also Louisiana
Description of the Collection
The Willam Dunbar Collection comprises the correspondence, diary, and scientific
papers of William Dunbar (1749–1810). Dunbar was born in Scotland and came to
America in 1771. He journeyed down the Mississippi in 1773 and settled near Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. In the 1790s, Dunbar moved to a plantation near Natchez,
12
Mississippi. Notable documents include correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, a
plantation journal from 1776 to 1780, and a journal from an exploring expedition on the
Red River.
N. B. A related collection among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History is #z114.1, William Dunbar Accretion, which is included in this
microfilm edition beginning at frame 0063 of Reel 10. Another related collection filmed
by UPA is the William Dunbar Account Book from the holdings of the Southern
Historical Collection, Manuscript Department at the Library of the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. This collection is part of Records of Ante-Bellum Southern
Plantations from the Revolution through the Civil War, Series J, Part 6.
Introductory Materials
0448
Introductory Materials. 5 frames.
Papers
Box 1
0453
0477
0497
0535
0609
0668
Folder 1. Correspondence, 1778. 24 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence, 1800–1804. 20 frames.
Folder 3. Correspondence, 1805–1812. 38 frames.
Folder 4. Geological Papers. 74 frames.
Folder 5. Geological Papers. Pages 37–150. 59 frames.
Folder 6. [Plantation] Journal, 1776–1780. 42 frames.
Box 2
0710
0757
0798
0862
Folder 7. Journal [from exploring expedition on Red River], 1804–1805. 47 frames.
Folder 8. Letter Book, 1802–1805. 41 frames.
Folder 9. Letter Book, 1805–1812. 64 frames.
Folder 10. Meteorological Observations, 1799–1810. 72 frames.
Reel 10
#z114, William Dunbar Collection cont.
Papers cont.
Box 2 cont.
0002
Folder 11. Meteorological Observations, 1814–1818. 49 frames.
#z114.1, William Dunbar Accretion, 1789–1842,
Adams County, Mississippi; also Louisiana
Description of the Collection
This collection of papers of William Dunbar comprises three series, the first of which is
correspondence. Many of the letters are between Dunbar and his wife, Diana, and
discuss plantation operations and the activities of slaves on the Dunbar plantations. The
second series consists of two items of correspondence regarding Dunbar’s son, also
13
named William. The third series is an unfinished memoir of William Dunbar, probably
written by his son-in-law, Samuel Postlethwaite.
N. B. A related collection among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History is #z114, William Dunbar Collection, which is included in this
microfilm edition beginning at frame 0453 of Reel 9. Another related collection filmed by
UPA is the William Dunbar Account Book from the holdings of Southern Historical
Collection, Manuscript Department at the Library of the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. This collection is part of Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations from
the Revolution through the Civil War, Series J, Part 6.
Intoductory Materials
0051
Introductory Materials. 12 frames.
Papers
Series 1
0063
0072
0091
0096
0112
0121
0138
0141
0146
Folder 1. Correspondence, 1789. 9 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence, 1790. 19 frames.
Folder 3. Correspondence, 1791. 5 frames.
Folder 4. Correspondence, 1792. 16 frames.
Folder 5. Correspondence, 1793. 9 frames.
Folder 6. Correspondence, 1794. 17 frames.
Folder 7. Correspondence, 1796. 3 frames.
Folder 8. Correspondence, 1797. 5 frames.
Folder 9. Correspondence, 1798. 9 frames.
Series 2
0155
Folder 10. Correspondence, 1842. 4 frames.
Series 3
0159
Folder 11. “Notices of the Life and Character of W. D. Late of the Forest Near Natchez”
[1810?]. 8 frames.
Photocopies
0167
Folder 1. Correspondence, August 11, 1789–May 3, 1790. 23 frames.
0190
Folder 2. Correspondence, April 27, 1791–July 10, 1792. 24 frames.
0214
Folder 3. Correspondence, Summer 1792–February 19, 1796. 19 frames.
0233
Folder 4. Correspondence, June 25, 1797–October 25, 1855. 23 frames.
#411m, Elley Plantation Book, 1855–1856,
Washington County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
The Elley Plantation Book records the operations on William R. Elley’s plantation in
Washington County, Mississippi, in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta. Spanning from January
1855 to October 1856, the entries include detailed records of the amount of cotton
picked by each slave.
Introductory Materials
0256
Introductory Materials. 3 frames.
14
Elley Plantation Book
0259
Elley Plantation Book, 1855–1856. 61 frames.
#752m, Alden Spooner Forbes Diary, 1859–1866,
Claiborne County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This collection consists of a typescript of the diary of Alden Spooner Forbes. Forbes
was a merchant and planter in Port Gibson, Claiborne County, Mississippi, and his diary
mentions both activities on his plantation and business transactions in his store. An
entry from April 13, 1861, is entitled “Commencement of the War” (Reel 10, Frame
0379), and it notes, “I can but doubt the news of actual hostilities having commenced
but may be so.” Entries from the years of the Civil War contain references to the course
of the war. The diary also includes a list of “War Prices of Articles of Necessity, 1863”
(Reel 10, Frame 0537) and a “List of Property Taken by Yankees” (Reel 10, Frame
0538).
Introductory Materials
0320
Introductory Materials. 4 frames.
Alden Spooner Forbes Diary
0324
0443
Volume 1. Alden Spooner Forbes Diary, January 1, 1859–April 1, 1863 (typescript).
119 frames.
Volume 2. Alden Spooner Forbes Diary, April 2, 1863–January 1, 1866 (typescript).
97 frames.
#1247, Irion-Neilson Collection, [1813–1971],
Lowndes County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
The Irion-Neilson collection contains diaries, journals, personal correspondence,
photographs, and newspaper clippings of members of the Irion and Neilson families.
The personal journal of Eliza Lucy Irion, who married John Abert Neilson, starts in 1843
and concludes with entries from 1868. The first volume of the journal records Irion’s
childhood memories. In a letter to her family during her time at Corona College, Irion
mentions her kind feelings for her slave mammy. Other topics covered in the journal
include education, social gatherings, health and diseases, and the Civil War. This
microfilm edition includes both the handwritten journal and a typescript.
The Civil War diary of John Abert Neilson, a member of the Confederate States Army,
begins at Frame 0360 of Reel 11. The diary spans from August 1861 to January 1862
and contains detailed reports on activities of the Mississippi Infantry, Fourteenth
Regiment. For example, the first entry mentions the arrest of two men believed to be
spies. Neilson’s personal feelings about the war and his own personal service are also
revealed in the diary. An entry from December 16, 1861, notes: “Our company recd. 85
bayonets as a present from the ladies of Columbus. Such gifts inspire us with invincible
courage and patriotism and make us long for an opportunity to signalize our arms.” On
15
December 19, 1861, Neilson wrote: “I don’t know but that it would be well for the
Confederacy should no foreign power intermeddle. So confident am I of our ultimate
success!” A January 9, 1862, entry mentions the anniversary of Mississippi’s secession
from the Union and declares: “This is the childhood of what will be a great and glorious
nation whose people are free and brave.” Also included in this collection are the
correspondence of John Abert Neilson with his family during the Civil War and the
courtship letters of John Abert Neilson and Eliza Lucy Irion.
Introductory Materials
0540
Introductory Materials. 6 frames.
Papers
Box 1
0546
0566
Volume 1. Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson, 1843–March 1858. 20 frames.
Volume 2. Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson, [March] 1858–1864. 150 frames.
Box 2
0716
0785
Volume 3. Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson, January 1–May 10, 1859. 69 frames.
Volume 4. Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson, May 11–December 1859. 129 frames.
Reel 11
#1247, Irion-Neilson Collection cont.
Papers cont.
Box 3
0002
0218
Box 9
0237
0241
0246
0288
0326
Box 10
0360
0449
0520
0550
0596
Volume 5. Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson, 1865–1868. 216 frames.
Bible of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson [extracts], [1870.] 19 frames.
Folder 1. Personal Correspondence, Charles Albert to W. W. Neilson, May 9, 1837. 4 frames.
Folder 2. Personal Correspondence, Snow Baker, June 8, 1813. 5 frames.
Folder 3. Journal of Elizabeth C. Irion, 1852–1854. 42 frames.
Folder 4. Personal Correspondence, James W. Irion to family, Undated and 1859–1861.
38 frames.
Folder 5. Personal Correspondence, James W. Irion to family, 1861–1862. 34 frames.
Folder 6. Diary of Captain John Abert Neilson (typescript and original), 1861–1862.
89 frames.
Folder 7. Diary of Captain John Abert Neilson, 1866. 71 frames.
Folder 8. Personal Correspondence, Love Letters of John Abert Neilson and Lucy Irion, July
13–August 3, 1870. 30 frames.
Folder 9. Personal Correspondence, Love Letters of John Abert Neilson and Lucy Irion,
August 8–October 28, 1870, and Undated. 46 frames.
Folder 10. Personal Correspondence, Love Letters of John Abert Neilson and Lucy Irion,
November 2, 1870–April 13, 1891. 39 frames.
16
Box 11
0635
0686
0732
0748
0758
0771
0792
0804
Folder 11. Personal Correspondence, Mrs. McKinney F. Irion Jr. to Elizabeth Charlotte Irion,
Undated and 1844–1846. 42 frames.
Folder 12. Personal Correspondence, McKinney F. Irion Jr. to Lucy Irion, 1859–1862.
9 frames.
Folder 13. Personal Correspondence, Miscellaneous, Lucy Irion, 1861–1901. 46 frames.
Folder 14. Personal Correspondence, Miscellaneous, Prose and Poetry. 16 frames.
Folder 15. Photographs. 10 frames.
Folder 16. Newspaper Clippings. 13 frames.
Folder 17. Newspaper Clippings. 21 frames.
Folder 18. Newspaper Clippings, Stephen D. Lee. 12 frames.
Folder 19. Newspaper Clippings. 30 frames.
Box 12
0834
0869
Volume 1. Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson (typescript), 1843–1858. 35 frames.
Volume 2. Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson (typescript), 1858. 37 frames.
0677
Reel 12
#1247, Irion-Neilson Collection cont.
Papers cont.
Box 12 cont.
0002
Volume 3. Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson (typescript), January–May 10, 1859. 38 frames.
0040
Volume 4. Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson (typescript), May 11–December 1859.
87 frames.
Box 13
0127
0259
Volume 2 (second part). Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson (typescript), 1860–1864.
132 frames.
Volume 5. Journal of Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson (typescript), 1865–1868. 200 frames.
Omissions
0459
List of Omissions from the Irion-Neilson Collection. 1 frame.
#258m, Killona Plantation Journals, 1836–[1840],
Holmes County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
Killona Plantation was another of the early cotton plantations in the Yazoo-Mississippi
Delta. These plantation journals were kept by Jorden Bailey, the manager of the
plantation, and include detailed records on the amount of cotton picked by each slave.
Statistics for other crops and for livestock, lists of clothes provided to slaves, and
business transactions were also recorded.
Introductory Materials
0460
Introductory Materials. 4 frames.
17
Killona Plantation Journals
0464
0540
Volume 1. Killona Plantation Journal, 1836–1840. 76 frames.
Volume 2. Killona Plantation Journal, 1836–1840. 82 frames.
Omissions
0622
List of Omissions from the Killona Plantation Journals. 1 frame.
#517m, Alexander G. McNutt Plantation Papers, 1835–1845,
Warren County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This collection consists of eight items of correspondence between Alexander G.
McNutt and George Rust. The first item in this collection (Reel 12, Frame 0627) is an
agreement between McNutt and Rust regarding Rust’s purchase of a group of McNutt’s
slaves. Other documents in the collection pertain to the financial difficulties faced by
McNutt in the operation of his plantation.
Introductory Materials
0623
Introductory Materials. 3 frames.
Papers
0626
Folder 1. [Business Correspondence], 1835–1845. 23 frames.
#889v, James T. Magruder Account Book and Plantation Journal,
1796–1818, Jefferson County, Mississippi; also Maryland
Description of the Collection
The James T. Magruder Account Book and Plantation Journal covers farming
operations at Mt. Ararat Plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi. The daily accounts
record weather, winds, the general operation of the plantation, and statistics on cotton
and other crops.
N. B. A related collection among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History is #692, James T. Magruder Cotton Book, 1818–1830, included in
this microfilm edition beginning at Frame 0710 of Reel 12.
Introductory Materials
0649
Introductory Materials. 4 frames.
James T. Magruder Account Book and Plantation Journal
0653
James T. Magruder Account Book and Plantation Journal, 1796–1818. 57 frames.
18
#692, James T. Magruder Cotton Book, 1818–1830,
Jefferson County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This collection consists of one folder of the correspondence of James T. Magruder
and the cotton book from Magruder’s plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi. In the
correspondence folder, there is a letter from Magruder’s son, Alexander, to his father, in
which Alexander criticizes those who imported slaves and argues for cessation of the
slave trade. The cotton book includes detailed daily entries about plantation operations,
weather, and statistics on the amount of cotton picked each day.
N. B. A related collection among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History is #889v, James T. Magruder Account Book and Plantation
Journal, 1796–1818, included in this microfilm edition beginning at Frame 0649 of
Reel 12.
Introductory Materials
0710
Introductory Materials. 5 frames.
Papers
0715
0728
Folder 1. Papers, 1828–1831. 13 frames.
Volume 1. Cotton Book, 1818–1830. 44 frames.
Omissions
0772
List of Omissions from the James T. Magruder Collection. 1 frame.
#z74, Panther Burn Plantation Journals, 1859–1883,
Panther Burn, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
The Panther Burn Plantation Journals document the operations of another of the early
cotton plantations located in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta. The first volume in this
collection was written by the plantation overseer, A. J. McNeill. Daily entries cover
weather, the health of slaves, and general plantation operations. The journal also
includes inventories of stock and implements and itemizes clothing and tools provided
for the slaves at Panther Burn. The collection also contains business records, receipts,
and checks of John Willis.
Introductory Materials
0773
Introductory Materials. 5 frames.
Panther Burn Plantation Journals
0778
Volume 1. The Cotton Plantation Record and Account Book, No. 1, Panther Burn Plantation,
1859–1883. 94 frames.
19
Reel 13
#z66, John A. Quitman Papers, 1812–1860,
Adams County, Mississippi
Biographical Note
John A. Quitman (1799–1858) was born in Rhinebeck, New York, the son of
Reverend Frederick Henry Quitman and Anna Elizabeth Hueck Quitman. He studied
law in Chillicothe and Delaware, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1821. At the end
of 1821, Quitman settled in Natchez, Mississippi, and began to practice law. In 1824, he
married Eliza Turner, the daughter of Henry and Sarah Turner, well-to-do citizens of
Natchez.
Quitman eventually came to own four plantations. By virtue of his marriage to Eliza,
he gained control of a plantation in Warren County, Mississippi. In 1834 Quitman
purchased Springfield Plantation, a tract of land located on the Mississippi River about
ten miles from his home at Monmouth. In the mid-1830s, he also took possession of a
plantation known as Live Oaks in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Finally, in the mid1850s, Quitman established a plantation in Holmes County, Mississippi, in the YazooMississippi Delta.
In addition to his role as plantation owner, Quitman led an active political life. He was
elected to the lower house of the Mississippi State legislature in 1827 and served until
1835. During that period, he also held the position of chancellor and was chairman of
the judiciary committee of the constitutional convention of 1832. In 1835, he was elected
to the state Senate, became its president on December 3, and until January 7, 1836,
was acting governor. Quitman was elected governor of Mississippi in 1849, serving until
1850 when he resigned after being indicted by a federal grand jury at New Orleans for
violation of neutrality laws. This was the result of Quitman’s support for the
independence movement in Cuba. The case against him eventually was dismissed, and
he was elected to Congress in 1855.
Quitman is also well known for his military service. In 1836 he led a company called
the “Fencibles” to Texas to take part in the struggle with Mexico. Upon his return he was
appointed brigadier-general of the Mississippi militia and in 1847 was promoted to the
position of major general.
Description of the Collection
This collection of John A. Quitman Papers comprises correspondence, speeches,
newspaper clippings, and the account book from Quitman’s Springfield Plantation. The
correspondence is arranged chronologically and spans from 1812 to 1860.
Several major topics are covered in this collection. For the period 1812 to 1846, most
of the documents relate to family matters, financial and business records, and legal
papers.
Documents relating to slavery can also be found in this accession of the Quitman
papers. The Springfield Plantation account book (Reel 16, Frame 0467) includes a list
of slaves and general entries regarding management of the plantation. An undated
speech (Reel 13, Frame 0098) discusses “northern interference” with the institution of
slavery. A May 15, 1854, letter also discusses the future of slavery in the United States
20
and contains a reference to U.S. policy toward Cuba. In the materials from 1840 (Reel
13, Frame 0396) there is a printed article covering the capture of a slave named Isaac,
his subsequent escape to New York, and the governor of New York’s refusal to
surrender the three men accused of bringing Isaac to New York. Another document on
this case can be found at Frame 0450 of Reel 13. A March 7, 1856, letter from Thomas
Harvey to Quitman covers slavery and abolition and puzzles over the issue of the evils
of slavery.
The other two major topics covered in this collection are also linked to the issue of
slavery. These topics are Quitman’s filibustering and his service in Congress. The
correspondence from 1850 to 1855 is dominated by material pertaining to Cuba. These
documents reveal Quitman’s hopes to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule and to use the
island as a location for the expansion of American slavery. Two documents from 1850
(Reel 14, Frames 0301 and 0303) cover Quitman’s indictment for violating the neutrality
laws of the United States through his involvement in an invasion of Cuba. Much of the
correspondence for the period 1855 to 1858 concerns Quitman’s service in the U.S.
House of Representatives.
N. B. Related collections among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History include #z66.1, Quitman Family Papers Accretion, 1822–1884;
#z156f, John A. Quitman Papers Accretion, 1847–1853; and #z913, John A. Quitman
and Family Papers Collection, 1820–1931. Each of these collections is included in this
microfilm edition. Another Quitman collection filmed by UPA is the Quitman Family
Papers, 1760–1926, from the Southern Historical Collection, Manuscripts Department,
Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This collection is included in
UPA’s Records of Antebellum Southern Plantations from the Revolution through the
Civil War, Series J, Part 6. Other Quitman-related collections can be found at the
University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Virginia; the Louisiana State University
Library, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In addition to these manuscript collections, Quitman has been the subject of several
important articles. An interesting article on Quitman as a slaveholder is Robert E. May,
“John A. Quitman and His Slaves: Reconciling Slave Resistance with the Proslavery
Defense,” The Journal of Southern History, 46 (November 1980): 551–570. Scholarly
works that primarily focus on Quitman’s political career include Cleo Hearon,
“Nullification in Mississippi,” Mississippi Historical Society, Publications, 12 (1912): 43–
71; John McCardell, “John A. Quitman and the Compromise of 1850 in Mississippi,”
Journal of Mississippi History, 37 (August 1975): 239–266; James H. McLendon, “John
A. Quitman, Fire-Eating Governor,” Journal of Mississippi History, 15 (April 1953): 73–
89; Robert E. May, The Southern Dream of a Caribbean Empire, 1854–1861 (Baton
Rouge, 1973); and John F. H. Claiborne, Life and Correspondence of John A. Quitman
(2 volumes, New York, 1860).
Introductory Materials
0001
Introductory Materials. 6 frames.
21
Papers
Box 1
0007
0036
0058
0116
0179
0227
0261
0305
0323
0343
0370
0382
0396
0454
Folder 1. Correspondence and Accounts, Undated. 29 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings, Undated. 22 frames.
Folder 3. Correspondence, Papers, and Speeches, Undated. 58 frames.
Folder 4. Correspondence and Speeches, Undated. 63 frames.
Folder 5. Correspondence and Lists, Undated. 48 frames.
Folder 6. Correspondence, Letters in Spanish, and Printed Material in Spanish. 34 frames.
Folder 7. Correspondence, Undated. 44 frames.
Folder 8. Correspondence and Receipts, 1812–1829. 18 frames.
Folder 9. Correspondence and Receipts, 1830–1835. 20 frames.
Folder 10. Correspondence and Receipts, 1836. 27 frames.
Folder 11. Correspondence, Promissory Notes, and receipts, 1837–1838. 12 frames.
Folder 12. Correspondence and Receipts, 1839. 14 frames.
Folder 12a. Correspondence and Published Articles, 1840. 58 frames.
Folder 13. Correspondence, 1841. 9 frames.
Box 2
0463
0489
0509
0531
0550
0571
0593
0619
0642
0666
Folder 1. Correspondence and Papers, January–June 1842. 26 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence and Papers, July–December 1842. 20 frames.
Folder 3. Correspondence and Papers, January–April 1843. 22 frames.
Folder 4. Correspondence and Papers, May–December 1843. 19 frames.
Folder 5. Correspondence and Papers, January–May 1844. 21 frames.
Folder 6. Correspondence, Bills of Sale, and Papers, June–December 1844. 22 frames.
Folder 7. Correspondence and Papers, January–June 1845. 26 frames.
Folder 8. Correspondence and Papers, July–December 1845. 23 frames.
Folder 9. Correspondence and Papers, January–April 1846. 24 frames.
Folder 10. Correspondence and Papers, May–September 1846. 35 frames.
Reel 14
#z66, John A. Quitman Papers cont.
Papers cont.
Box 2 cont.
0002
Folder 11. Correspondence and Papers, October–December 1846. 26 frames.
0028
Folder 12. Correspondence and Papers, January–May 1847. 19 frames.
0047
Folder 13. Correspondence and Papers, July–December 1847. 17 frames.
0064
Folder 14. Correspondence and Papers, February–May 1848. 19 frames.
0083
Folder 15. Correspondence and Papers, July–December 1848. 27 frames.
0110
Folder 16. Correspondence and Papers, January–June 1849. 20 frames.
0130
Folder 17. Correspondence and Papers, July–December 1849. 15 frames.
22
Box 3
0145
0181
0207
0246
0277
0311
0331
0370
0400
0432
0455
0482
0533
0567
0604
0618
0644
0691
Folder 1. Correspondence and Papers, January–February 1850. 36 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence and Papers, March–April 1850. 26 frames.
Folder 3. Correspondence and Papers, May–June 1850. 39 frames.
Folder 4. Correspondence and Papers, July 1850. 31 frames.
Folder 5. Correspondence and Papers, August–October 1850. 34 frames.
Folder 6. Correspondence and Papers, November–December 1850. 20 frames.
Folder 7. Correspondence and Papers, January 1851. 39 frames.
Folder 8. Correspondence and Papers, February–March 1851. 30 frames.
Folder 9. Correspondence and Papers, April–May 1851. 32 frames.
Folder 10. Correspondence and Papers, June–September 1851. 23 frames.
Folder 11. Correspondence and Papers, October–December 1851. 27 frames.
Folder 12. Correspondence and Papers, 1852. 51 frames.
Folder 13. Correspondence and Papers, January–June 1853. 34 frames.
Folder 14. Correspondence and Papers, July–December 1853. 37 frames.
Folder 15. Correspondence and Papers, 1854. 14 frames.
Folder 16. Correspondence and Papers, January–February 1854. 26 frames.
Folder 17. Correspondence and Papers, March–April 1854. 47 frames.
Folder 18. Correspondence and Papers, May 1854. 31 frames.
Reel 15
#z66, John A. Quitman Papers cont.
Papers cont.
Box 4
0002
0035
0070
0096
0126
0166
0207
0234
0266
0294
0328
0353
0382
0399
0448
0467
0503
Folder 1. Correspondence and Papers, June 1–10, 1854. 33 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence and Papers, June 11–30, 1854. 35 frames.
Folder 3. Correspondence and Papers, July 1854. 26 frames.
Folder 4. Correspondence and Papers, August 1854. 30 frames.
Folder 5. Correspondence and Papers, September 1854. 40 frames.
Folder 6. Correspondence and Papers, October 1854. 41 frames.
Folder 7. Correspondence and Papers, November 1854. 27 frames.
Folder 8. Correspondence and Papers, December 1–15, 1854. 32 frames.
Folder 9. Correspondence and Papers, December 16–31, 1854. 28 frames.
Folder 10. Correspondence and Papers, January 1–15, 1855. 34 frames.
Folder 11. Newspaper Clippings, Correspondence, and Papers. January 16–31, 1855.
25 frames.
Folder 12. Correspondence and Papers, February 1855. 29 frames.
Folder 13. Correspondence and Papers, March 1855. 17 frames.
Folder 14. Correspondence and Papers, May–July 1855. 49 frames.
Folder 15. Correspondence and Papers, August 1855. 19 frames.
Folder 16. Correspondence and Papers, September–November 1855. 36 frames.
Folder 17. Correspondence and Papers, December 1855. 33 frames.
23
Box 5
0536
0571
0608
0641
0676
Folder 1. Correspondence and Papers, January 1–14, 1856. 35 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence and Papers, January 16–31, 1856. 37 frames.
Folder 3. Correspondence and Papers, February 4–15, 1856. 33 frames.
Folder 4. Correspondence and Papers, February 16–29, 1856. 35 frames.
Folder 5. Correspondence and Papers, March 2–11, 1856. 35 frames.
Reel 16
#z66, John A. Quitman Papers cont.
Papers cont.
Box 5 cont.
0002
Folder 6. Correspondence and Papers, March 12–31, 1856. 27 frames.
0029
Folder 7. Correspondence and Papers, April 1–14, 1856. 25 frames.
0054
Folder 8. Correspondence and Papers, April–May 1856. 44 frames.
0098
Folder 9. Correspondence and Papers, June 1856. 27 frames.
0125
Folder 10. Correspondence and Papers, July 1856. 30 frames.
0155
Folder 11. Correspondence and Papers, August–October 1856. 36 frames.
0191
Folder 12. Correspondence and Papers, November–December 1856. 32 frames.
0223
Folder 13. Correspondence and Papers, January–March 1857. 36 frames.
0259
Folder 14. Correspondence and Papers, April–May 1857. 32 frames.
0291
Folder 15. Correspondence and Papers, June–August 1857. 35 frames.
0326
Folder 16. Newspaper Clippings, Correspondence, and Papers, September–December 1857.
43 frames.
0369
Folder 17. Correspondence and Papers, January–March 1858. 49 frames.
0418
Folder 18. Correspondence and Papers, April–December 1858; 1859–1860. 49 frames.
Box 10
0467
Volume 1. Springfield Plantation Account Book, 1842–1852. 74 frames.
Omissions
0541
List of Omissions from John A. Quitman Papers. 1 frame.
#z66.1, Quitman Family Papers Accretion, 1822–1884,
Adams County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This accretion of Quitman Family Papers comprises correspondence, financial
papers, and other miscellaneous papers of John A. Quitman and his relatives. Most of
the papers concern Frederick Henry Quitman, the only son of John A. and Eliza
Quitman. The collection spans from 1822 to 1884 with the bulk of the materials dating
from the 1850s. Among the topics discussed in the correspondence are health
concerns, family affairs, and the political activities of John A. Quitman.
N. B. Related collections among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History include #z66, John A. Quitman Papers, 1812–1860; #z156f, John
24
A. Quitman Papers Accretion, 1847–1853; and #z913, John A. Quitman and Family
Papers Collection, 1820–1931. Each of these collections is included in this microfilm
edition.
Introductory Materials
0542
Introductory Materials. 4 frames.
Papers
0546
0562
0596
0644
0653
0665
0716
0738
0753
0802
0831
0847
0885
0913
0933
0941
0976
1028
1058
1088
1092
1096
1108
1114
Folder 1. Correspondence, 1842–1848. 16 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence, 1849. 34 frames.
Folder 3. Correspondence, 1850. 48 frames.
Folder 4. Correspondence, 1851. 9 frames.
Folder 5. Correspondence, 1852. 12 frames.
Folder 6. Correspondence, 1853. 51 frames.
Folder 7. Correspondence, 1854. 22 frames.
Folder 8. Correspondence, 1855. 15 frames.
Folder 9. Correspondence, 1856. 49 frames.
Folder 10. Correspondence, 1857. 29 frames.
Folder 11. Correspondence, 1858. 16 frames.
Folder 12. Correspondence, 1859. 38 frames.
Folder 13. Correspondence, 1860–1868. 28 frames.
Folder 14. Correspondence, 1870–1884. 20 frames.
Folder 15. Correspondence, Eliza Quitman to Henry Quitman (son), Undated. 8 frames.
Folder 16. Correspondence, Alfred Gardner (outgoing), Undated. 35 frames.
Folder 17. Correspondence, Mary Quitman (outgoing), Undated. 52 frames.
Folder 18. Correspondence, [miscellaneous], Undated. 30 frames.
Folder 19. Financial, 1822–1870 and Undated. 30 frames.
Folder 20. Student Reports, 1851–1852 and 1860. 4 frames.
Folder 21. Sketches [maps], 1846 and Undated. 4 frames.
Folder 22. Poetry and Prose, Undated. 12 frames.
Folder 23. Household Inventories, 1846 and Undated. 6 frames.
Folder 24. Miscellaneous, 1853, 1856, and Undated. 8 frames.
Reel 17
#z156f, John A. Quitman Papers Accretion, 1847–1853,
Adams County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This accretion of the John A. Quitman Papers includes four items, three of which are
letters written by John A. Quitman to his only son, Frederick Henry Quitman. The first
letter, written during Quitman’s command of Mississippi militia troops in Mexico,
discusses family matters and also includes a comment on Colonel Jefferson Davis. The
second letter, written from Quitman’s home at Monmouth, includes advice to be
followed as well as an update on family news. The third letter was also written at
Monmouth and discusses the yellow fever epidemic of 1853. This small accretion of
25
Quitman papers concludes with a scrapbook of miscellaneous items, including
newspaper clippings pertaining to antebellum politics.
N. B. Related collections among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History include #z66, John A. Quitman Papers, 1812–1860; #z66.1,
Quitman Family Papers Accretion, 1822–1884; and #z913, John A. Quitman and Family
Papers Collection, 1820–1931. Each of these collections is included in this microfilm
edition.
Introductory Materials
0001
Introductory Materials. 4 frames.
Papers
0005
0045
Folder 1. Correspondence, January 11, 1847–September 29, 1853. 40 frames.
Folder 2. Correspondence, March 9, 1848. 5 frames.
#z913, John A. Quitman and Family Papers Collection, 1820–1931,
Adams County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This collection of John A. Quitman and Family Papers includes correspondence,
newspaper clippings, printed materials, and genealogical records and spans from 1820
to 1931, with the bulk of the documents from the 1840s and 1850s. As with the other
Quitman collections, much of the correspondence is to or from Frederick Henry
Quitman. Several letters relate to antebellum politics. There are also several items on
Cuba, including a February 1850 article from the Democratic Review entitled “General
Lopez, The Cuban Patriot.”
N. B. Related collections among the holdings of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History include #z66, John A. Quitman Papers, 1812–1860; #z66.1,
Quitman Family Papers Accretion, 1822–1884; and #z156f, John A. Quitman Papers
Accretion, 1847–1853. Each of these collections is included in this microfilm edition.
Introductory Materials
0050
Introductory Materials. 3 frames.
Papers
0053
0083
0124
0169
0207
0255
0285
0311
0353
0401
0448
Folder 1. [Correspondence], November 2, 1820–December 10, 1846. 30 frames.
Folder 2. [Correspondence], January 6, 1847–December 30, 1848. 41 frames.
Folder 3. [Correspondence], January 19–December 4, 1849. 45 frames.
Folder 4. [Correspondence], March 14, 1850–November 20, 1851. 38 frames.
Folder 5. [Correspondence], January 30, 1852–December 27, 1854. 48 frames.
Folder 6. [Correspondence], January 19–October 23, 1855. 30 frames.
Folder 7. [Correspondence], November 7–December 31, 1855. 26 frames.
Folder 8. [Correspondence], January 10–December 8, 1856. 42 frames.
Folder 9. [Correspondence], January 2–December 29, 1857. 48 frames.
Folder 10. [Correspondence], January 4–December 28, 1858. 47 frames.
Folder 11. [Correspondence], July 28, 1859–March 13, 1931. 19 frames.
26
0467
0479
0499
0520
0532
0590
Folder 12. Newspaper Clippings. 1850–1913 and Undated. 12 frames.
Folder 13. Photographs and Prints, 1819–1847 and Undated. 20 frames.
Folder 14. [Correspondence], Undated and incomplete dates. 21 frames.
Folder 15. “General Lopez, The Cuban Patriot,” Democratic Review, February 1850.
12 frames.
Folder 16. Fragments. 58 frames.
Folder 17. Fragments. 38 frames.
#1308, Nancy McDougall Robinson Collection, 1832–1873,
Claiborne County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
The Nancy McDougall Robinson Collection consists of diaries, correspondence, slave
lists and accounts, birth and death records, recipes, photographs, and other
miscellaneous items. Robinson’s diary contains entries on family and home life, health,
weather, and the progress of the Civil War. The correspondence of Nancy McDougall
Robinson with her son, Jerry Robinson, also contains frequent references to the Civil
War. A list of the slaves owned by Robinson and her husband, Alfred Bassett Robinson,
can be found at Frame 0289 of Reel 18.
Introductory Materials
0628
Introductory Materials. 4 frames.
Papers
Box 1
0632
0775
0848
Diary of Nancy McDougall Robinson, 1865–1869. 143 frames.
Diary of Nancy McDougall Robinson, 1872–1873. 73 frames.
Diary of Nancy McDougall Robinson, 1853–1857. 65 frames.
Reel 18
#1308, Nancy McDougall Robinson Collection cont.
Papers cont.
Box 1 cont.
0002
Diary of Nancy McDougall Robinson, 1832–1833. 32 frames.
0034
Diary of Nancy McDougall Robinson, 1855–1856. 54 frames.
0088
Diary of Nancy McDougall Robinson, 1856–1858. 56 frames.
0144
Diary of Nancy McDougall Robinson, 1858–1859. 47 frames.
Box 2
0191
0289
0311
0317
0319
Folder 1. Correspondence, Undated and 1858–1882. 98 frames.
Folder 2. Slave Lists and Accounts, 1861–1863. 22 frames.
Folder 3. Birth and Death Records. 6 frames.
Folder 4. Miscellaneous Recipes. 2 frames.
Folder 5. Photographs. 3 frames.
27
0322
0344
0353
Folder 6. Certification by the Clerk of the Chancery Court of Coahoma County concerning
[photocopies] of the Robinson Bible, owned by Jerry Falls, 1966. 22 frames.
Folder 7. Payment Receipts, 1858–1860. 9 frames.
Folder 8. Marriage, Births, and Deaths Recorded in the Bible of William H. Fitzgerald
[photocopies]. 21 frames.
#z270m, Walter Wade Plantation Diaries, 1834–1854,
Jefferson County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This collection is a typescript of two volumes of the plantation diaries of Walter Wade.
Wade was a practicing physician as well as a plantation owner in Jefferson County,
Mississippi. The diary is a record of the daily operation of Wade’s Ross Wood cotton
plantation. Many entries pertain to the subject of slavery. For example, there are
detailed statistics on the cotton crop and the amount of cotton picked each day by
individual slaves. An entry from May 1, 1852, notes “Let negroes have afternoon to fix
their corn ground and plant it” (Reel 18, Frame 0624). An entry from December 1852
mentions a runaway slave named Charles and a visitor who came to trade with Wade’s
slaves. Other entries note the clothes given to slaves. Wade’s diaries also include
extensive medical records. For example, on February 21, 1848, Wade recorded an
abortion of twins at three months (Reel 18, Frame 0732).
Introductory Materials
0374
Introductory Materials. 3 frames.
Diaries
0377
0695
Volume 1. Plantation Diary of Dr. Walter Wade of “Ross Wood” in Jefferson County,
Mississippi, 1834–1854 (typescript). 318 frames.
Volume 2. Plantation Diary of Dr. Walter Wade of “Ross Wood” in Jefferson County,
Mississippi, 1838–1849 (typescript). 237 frames.
Reel 19
#z76, Benjamin Leonard Covington Wailes Diaries, 1762–1862,
Washington, Adams County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
Benjamin Leonard Covington (B. L. C.) Wailes was a plantation owner, geologist, and
surveyor in Washington, Mississippi. He was known for his interest in natural
phenomena in the region, particularly soils, rocks, plants, and animal life. In 1852,
Wailes was appointed assistant professor of agriculture and geological sciences at the
University of Mississippi. His diaries include scientific observations as well as many
interesting entries about the functioning of a Mississippi plantation.
Wailes’s diaries contain many comments about the slave system on his plantation.
For example, a December 1857 entry (Reel 19, Frame 0719) notes that the overseer,
Mr. Stanford, “has had some difficulty with the negroes about a week since for
28
insubordination and had to whip some of them.” On November 15, 1858, Wailes
recorded his displeasure with this same overseer. He wrote: “Nothing would induce me
to keep him longer. I find that he has neglected my sick negroes very much…. His wife
too is a nuisance on the place and the negroes charge them with misappropriating the
clothing and other supplies” (Reel 19, Frame 0818). A pair of entries from June 2 and
June 5, 1859 (Reel 19, Frames 0897 and 0899), mention that two slaves had run away
because of the brutal conduct of the overseer.
Wailes’s diaries also include many comments about the Civil War. Between 1860 and
1862, his tone seems to change substantially. For example, on January 9, 1860, he
wrote of a letter he received from his son, Leonard, in medical school in Philadelphia.
Wailes notes his happiness that Leonard had chosen to remain in school even though
“at least two hundred [southern students] left for southern institutions in consequence of
the political excitements gotten up by the sectionalists and disunionists” (Reel 19,
Frame 1014). A November 21, 1860, entry was even more critical of secession. Wailes
wrote: “the papers are filled with threats of violence of the maniacs of South Carolina
and Georgia…the desperate demagogues are inflaming the populace to precipitate our
country into a state of lawless violence and terror.” As the war progressed, however,
Wailes increasingly came to identify with the southern cause. A July 31, 1861, entry
refers to a “glorious” battle at Manassas. A September 1861 entry (Reel 20, Frame
0130) indicates the sacrifice Wailes became willing to make for the Confederate cause.
Discussing an impending Union advance, he wrote: “Would we be reduced to that
extremity we can set fire to [the cotton], and should they leave us our hogs and corn, we
can manage to live another year.”
N. B. Other B. L. C. Wailes material filmed by UPA is part of the Francis Mignon
Papers, 1826–1854, from the holdings of the Southern Historical Collection, Manuscript
Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This collection
contains materials written by B. L. C. Wailes. It is part of Records of Ante-Bellum
Southern Plantations from the Revolution through the Civil War, Series J, Part 6.
Another collection of B. L. C. Wailes Papers is held by the Manuscript Department of
the William R. Perkins Library, Duke University.
Introductory Materials
0001
Introductory Materials. 17 frames.
Diaries
Box 1, Series 1
0018
Folder 1, Volume 1. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), January 27–March 10, 1852.
13 frames.
0031
Folder 2, Volume 2. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), March 11–April 22, 1852. 18 frames.
0049
Folder 3, Volume 3. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), April 23–August 5, 1852. 40 frames.
0089
Folder 4, Volume 4. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), August 6–September 5, 1852.
30 frames.
0119
Folder 5, Volume 5. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), September 6–December 3, 1852.
31 frames.
0150
Folder 6, Volume 6. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), December 4, 1852–March 16, 1853.
32 frames.
0182
Folder 7, Volume 7. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), March 17–May 24, 1853. 30 frames.
29
0212
0241
0272
0305
0336
0369
0435
0499
0564
0627
0663
0697
0727
0767
0802
0833
0868
0904
0937
0952
0989
1025
1063
1098
Folder 8, Volume 8. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), May 25–August 31, 1853.
29 frames.
Folder 9, Volume 9. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), September 1–December 31, 1853.
31 frames.
Folder 10, Volume 10. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), January 1–March 19, 1854.
33 frames.
Folder 11, Volume 11. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), March 20–April 30, 1854.
31 frames.
Folder 12, Volume 12. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), May 1–August 9, 1854.
33 frames.
Folder 13, Volume 13. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), August 10–December 20, 1854.
66 frames.
Folder 14, Volume 14. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), December 21, 1854–August 14,
1855. 64 frames.
Folder 15, Volume 15. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), August 15, 1855–May 16, 1856.
65 frames.
Folder 16, Volume 16. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), May 17, 1856–January 1, 1857.
63 frames.
Folder 17, Volume 17. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), January 1–April 30, 1857.
36 frames.
Folder 18, Volume 18. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), May 1–September 30, 1857.
34 frames.
Folder 19, Volume 19. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), October 1–December 1, 1857.
30 frames.
Folder 20, Volume 20. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), January 1–June 30, 1858.
40 frames.
Folder 21, Volume 21. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), July 1–October 31, 1858.
35 frames.
Folder 22, Volume 22. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), November 1–December 31, 1858.
31 frames.
Folder 23, Volume 23. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), January 1–March 31, 1859.
35 frames.
Folder 24, Volume 24. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), April 1–June 15, 1859. 36 frames.
Folder 25, Volume 25. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), June 15–July 23, 1859.
33 frames.
Folder 26, Volume 26. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), July 24–August 18, 1859.
15 frames.
Folder 27, Volume 27. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), August 19–November 16, 1859.
37 frames.
Folder 28, Volume 28. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), November 17, 1859–January 31,
1860. 36 frames.
Folder 29, Volume 29. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), February 1–May 13, 1860.
38 frames.
Folder 30, Volume 30. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), May 14–June 30, 1860.
35 frames.
Folder 31, Volume 31. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), July 1–August 16, 1860.
25 frames.
30
Reel 20
#z76, Benjamin Leonard Covington Wailes Diaries cont.
Diaries cont.
Box 1, Series 1 cont.
0002
Folder 32, Volume 32. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), September 22, 1860–January 31,
1861. 55 frames.
0057
Folder 33, Volume 33. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), February 1–August 1, 1861.
57 frames.
0114
Folder 34, Volume 34. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), August 1–December 31, 1861.
63 frames.
0177
Folder 35, Volume 35. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), January 1–May 31, 1862.
64 frames.
0241
Folder 36, Volume 36. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes (typescript), June 1–November 5, 1862.
62 frames.
0303
Folder 37. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, Provenance file, 1937; 1939; 1966; 1976. 5 frames.
0308
Folder [38]. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, Index, Undated. 186 frames.
Box 2, Series 2
0494
Volume 1. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, January 24–March 10, 1852. 25 frames.
0519
Volume 2. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, March 11–April 22, 1852. 27 frames.
0546
Volume 3. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, April 23–August 5, 1852. 62 frames.
0608
Volume 4. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, August 6–September 5, 1852. 52 frames.
0660
Volume 10. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, January 1–March 19, 1854. 50 frames.
0710
Volume 11. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, March 20–April 30, 1854. 47 frames.
0757
Volume 12. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, May 1–August 9, 1854. 51 frames.
0808
Volume 13. Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, August 10–December 20, 1854. 100 frames.
Box 3, Series 5
0908
Notes on the Aboriginal Monuments and Remains of Mississippi, 1852. 27 frames.
Box 3, Series 6
0935
References to Individuals and Localities, Undated. 25 frames.
Box 3, Series 7
0960
Diary of B. L. C. Wailes, 1829–1830. 61 frames.
Box 3, Series 8
1021
Miscellaneous Notes, Undated. 23 frames.
Box 3, Series 10
1044
Notes on Natural History, 1852. 34 frames.
Box 3, Series 3
1078
Historical Notes furnished by Judge Edward Turner, [1859]. 39 frames.
Omissions
1117
List of Omissions from the Benjamin Leonard Covington Wailes Diaries. 1 frame.
31
#z912, Wallace Plantation Book, 1837–1855,
Como, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This collection consists of one item, a day book of records, possibly from a plantation
owned by the Wallace family near Como, Mississippi. The day book contains accounts
for blacksmith services and a record of items sold at the Wallace general store.
Introductory Materials
1118
Introductory Materials. 5 frames.
Wallace Plantation Book
1123
Wallace Plantation Book, 1837–1855. 76 frames.
#129m, Unidentified Plantation Journal, 1859–1860,
Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi
Description of the Collection
This plantation journal is possibly from a plantation near Holly Springs, Marshall
County, Mississippi. Topics covered in the entries include weather, operation of the
plantation, and the health of the slaves.
Introductory Materials
1199
Introductory Materials. 3 frames.
Plantation Journal
1202
Unidentified Plantation Journal, 1859–1860. 43 frames.
32
RECORDS OF
ANTE-BELLUM SOUTHERN
PLANTATIONS
From the Revolution
through the Civil War
Series A.
Selections from the South Caroliniana Library,
University of South Carolina
Series B.
Selections from the South Carolina Historical Society
Series C.
Selections from the Library of Congress
Series D.
Selections from the Maryland Historical Society
Series E.
Selections from the University of Virginia Library,
University of Virginia
Series
Selections from Duke University Library
F.
Series G.
Selections from the Center for American History,
University of Texas at Austin
Series H.
Selections from the Howard-Tilton Library, Tulane
University, and the Louisiana State Museum Archives
Series
I.
Selections from Louisiana State University
Series
J.
Selections from the Southern Historical Collection
Series K.
Selections from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Library, The Shirley Plantation Collection
Series L.
Selections from the Earl Gregg Swem Library,
The College of William and Mary in Virginia
Series M.
Selections from the Virginia Historical Society
Series N.
Selections from the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History
UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS OF AMERICA
www.cispubs.com